Doubling Down In The New Year

The new year is upon us, the last went by quickly. The year had a bit of everything we hoped for with a handful of things we could have done without. There was excitement, challenges, cold nights, hot days, injuries, many miles by foot, not enough miles by bike, bookshops, taco stands, post run breweries and a fair number of humble adventures. We rewrote our mission statement a dozen times. We doubted our decision to live out of a van, questioned our purpose, tested our relationship, and continued to wonder where we fit in this complex world we feel is moving further away from its natural state.

We’ve been living out of the van, campsites, and hotels (with the occasional layover at family and friends) for 18 months. We woke this morning with condensation on the windows and breathing in the damp air from last night’s rain. Susan expressed her fear for the new year. We’re pretty good at the traveling and dispersed camping, it’s the cities we fear. We now find ourselves in the Phoenix / Scottsdale area for the Winter for work. It’s tough living out of vehicles within city boundaries. That gives us some concern as stress levels rise and our commitment to one another and this lifestyle becomes strained.

That said, neither of us has any desire to go back to concrete walls and daily commutes to unfulfilling jobs that leave us with little energy to pursue our true loves: mountains, waves, books, travel, and writing.

So — we are doubling down.

We look ahead with the sun on our faces (despite this unusual cold and rainy day in AZ). We are committed to 2019 knowing our experiences of the past 12 months have given us the mental resilience and physical strength to continue. While we’re both scared, mostly over the financial viability of this life choice, we recognize we’re in a better position today than we were at this time last year. We have work opportunities that didn’t exist then, we are currently (knock on wood) injury free, we have a second vehicle that has reduced our expenses and our impact on the environment, and we have a full calendar of events and humble adventures to keep us driven during the colder months.

We are also connecting with more of you who attempt to live outside common, those who need a consistent connection with nature and who choose a simpler lifestyle to stay mentally (and physically) well. Though extreme introverts, we are grateful for these connections with genuine like-minded humans who share our desire for a slower and more nature driven world.

Thanks for joining us in 2018 and we hope you’re ready for 2019. We plan to share more stories of uncommon living and humble adventures, craft articles on how to nourish ourselves for a balanced and joyful life, and create new resources to help people get dirty, be good and live outside common.

Paul is a self-proclaimed philosopher and writer who shares stories about uncommon living and humble adventures to encourage a connection with nature and promote wellness.
He is a Dirty Good Co — founder and Editor of RaceCenter Magazine.